Monthly Archives: January 2011
Inspired Life…Update on the Biz
| January 31, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under Business, Inspiration, inspired life series |
In my post two weeks ago, Business Sense, I talked about putting myself on a schedule that would allow (i.e., force) me to stay focused on specific work tasks for short periods of time. The goal was to try really hard to stay on track for 2 weeks and see if my work habits would improve. The other goal was to work less overall. I printed out a timesheet and kept track of my actual hours as well as using my google calendar to visually see the schedule and send me alerts.
Guess what? I DID IT! I veered a little when certain things came up, and I had a couple days that I wasn’t feeling well so I pushed the schedule back or even moved a less-important task to the next day. But overall I stayed on track and got most of the things on my To-Do list crossed off (including some I’ll get to it someday stuff). And here’s the kicker: The first week I worked a grand total of 15.5 hours, 18 hours in week 2. OMG, what???
Yeah, less than a 16 hour workweek. I checked work email a total of 3 times during the weekend and that was because I was actually coordinating a delivery on Saturday. I spent the rest of the weekend off. Our sales were actually a little better than normal, our shipments all went out on time, accounting and purchasing got done and customers were happy as usual.
Which leads me to wonder “what did I used to do for the other 34 hours?” Exactly the same thing. Just more scattered and impulsive. I can say with Abe-honesty that I was a busy little bee every day before – no afternoons of bon-bon eating and reality show watching. I worked with all the passion and fear that any good business owner pulls out of their (where?)… And I was scared. If I stopped working I thought the business would stop working. But I had to try it out. Work smarter, not harder, ya know?
Totally worth it.
Inspired Life…It’s All Good
| January 28, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under Body, Inspiration, inspired life series |
Just as we were rounding out 2010, I decided that this coming year was going to be a great one. I probably have that same thought every year (like most) but you know what? I’ve been wrong before.
Last year could be summed up by the word stress. The year before, hopelessness. Year before that? Fear.
Yep, I’m not exactly the poster child for zen living these last couple years. And if I’m not careful I could become a person who I’d rather not be around. Since that sounds awful, and you can’t escape yourself, I decided to put my Type-A traits to good use and create a plan of action so that I can ultimately define 2011 as happy.
I’ve started a blog series called Inspired Life around my 6 goals for the year – I’ve been diligently keeping us with my ‘tasks’ and blogging to keep myself motivated. So here I am just a couple weeks in and I think I’ve done a 180. I feel so much better already. I’m almost in shock at how quickly I’m becoming my old (optimistic, social and un-frenzied) self. Goal #6 is to actively cultivate positivity over negativity and that decision alone has made me do a double take on my life.
Here’s the deal. When life hands you lemons you can make lemonade. But when life starts chucking them at you through a tennis ball launcher and you’re covered in bruises laying in a pile of dirty, useless, lemons it’s kind of hard to figure out what the hell to do next.
So you lay there for a bit, stunned and teary-eyed and wait until A) Someone comes to help you up, B) A miracle happens, or C) You gather the strength to get up all by yourself. Then you walk a safe distance away before turning to survey the damage. All the lemons start to blur into kind of a pretty golden blob and you laugh at the thought of how much those tiny little suckers hurt.
But the reality of it is that you still have bruises and you’ve got quite a mess to clean up. So you set to work, all the while going over the whole scene in your head to try and figure out WTH happened and how to avoid it from now on.
I could have done a lot of things differently these last few years, but I actually do think that I’m better for it. My younger, bright-eyed self didn’t have a clue about what was coming. But my older, beat down self knows that a whole lotta crap can happen in a short period of time. She understands that if you work 70 hours a week for a year and stop talking to your friends you’re going to get sick and feel lonely. She knows you can’t buy something now and pay for it later. She gets that life is constantly shifting – plans change, dreams alter and people move on. And she can roll with that.
I’m getting my bright eyes back and I’m learning how to balance again. I feel positive again, and even when the negative starts roaring, my new self sits back and listens until she’s done. And then she moves on.
BTW, that awesome poster is from Etsy and the cute lemons are from Joojoo
Interior Obsession: The Bedroom and a Splash of Orange
| January 27, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under accessories, bedroom, interiors, my house, textiles |
Sometimes I think I became a designer for the simple reason that I can only redecorate my own home so often. Our living and dining rooms are in a constant shift, from the floor to the walls (partly due to our apartment being the Redefine Home photo studio, but still) and I’m always trying to make new things work into the existing.
But I’m limited, ya know? I’m at the mercy of the existing furniture and general color palette and my whims for a color splash are not in the cards. And then there’s the bedroom…
When hubs and I first moved in together we were very much in agreement that we liked white bedrooms. Crisp, clean, layered with lots of white on white texture. It felt luxurious yet comforting. So over the last few years I’ve picked white things up here and there, and we’ve got a very white bed. But somehow it doesn’t look how I pictured it – it’s not fluffy and soft and elegant. It looks flat and empty. We recently added a beautiful reclaimed wood headboard and a striped duvet, which I don’t like at all.
Okay, I’ll also admit here that until a few weeks ago the bed only got made every other weekend. But no more! I’ve successfully made it every day since Jan 1. And let me tell you, it’s pretty darn nice to walk into the room now. So I guess it’s my reward that I want to remake our bed, literally.
I’m all about color these days. My usual desire for earthy naturals feels somehow boring when looking at my bed. I still love the white basics, but I really want something that feels fun and fresh. As I’ve been e-shopping for ideas and easy additions I’m really drawn to:
From Elle Decor
From West Elm
So here’s my design plea to you – what do you like? Do you think I can pull off some orange updates in the bedroom? And a rug? Help!
Save Your Scraps – Easy Veggie Stock
| January 21, 2011 | Posted by Linsi Brownson under cooking, food, Inspiration |
I’m a little late to the learn my way around a kitchen party. But that’s beside the point. I’m learning now and I’m starting simple. So the other day I was bouncing around blogs and cooking websites and I stumbled upon this genius idea presented by Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn: using cast-off vegetable parts to make vegetable stock which can then be used in tons of dishes.
So for any healthy eater (who cooks at home), there’s always a rotation of vegetables in the course of a week. Almost half of it gets tossed in the trash (or compost bin) – leaves, stalks and slightly damaged bits that don’t seem so appetizing. But these pieces are perfect for stock and it’s so easy! You can get the low-down here.
After you’ve gathered about 4 cups of veggies (be sure to include celery, carrots and onion), cut all the pieces into sort of similar sizes so the flavor will extract better and toss ‘em in with 2 quarts of water. Boil, then simmer for about an hour.
I added just a touch of salt and I’m pretty darn proud of the results. After straining I poured about 1 cup each into a couple containers to freeze as portions and use later on. I left the rest in a larger container in the fridge for the week. Yahoo!
The Key to a Green Lifestyle is Organization
| January 20, 2011 | Posted by Nicole L. under organization, storage, Sustainable Living |
Hi gang, it’s Nicole from A View From The Edge and, now that the holidays are over, it’s time for those of us resolution-makers to face the promises we made to ourselves. This year, I’ve committed to living a more sustainable lifestyle. However, part of a successful sustainable lifestyle maintaining a sense of organization – yikes!
Organization has never been a strength of mine so, in order to lead a sustainable life, I’m committed to tackling my disorganized ways using the following strategy:
1.) I won’t look for the solution before I find the problem. In other words, shopping for organizational tools before the organizational problem has been identified doesn’t make much sense. An assortment of containers won’t magically organize my life for me. Besides, finding the problem and dealing with why it’s a problem is much more beneficial than splurging at The Container Store.
2.) I will become more mindful of my habits and adjust my behavior accordingly. In order to achieve the habits which fight clutter, it’s important to understand how we relate to the space around us. Our space should work with our lives and not the other way around.
For example, I have a small kitchen. My counters were getting so cluttered with small appliances and the only place I could store my baking dishes was atop the refrigerator. I have extra space in my adjacent dining room so I found a Metro rack second-hand, moved my appliances and bakeware to it and now I have a more functional kitchen.
3.) I will exercise some discipline. Staying organized won’t be easy, it’s going to require me to get out of my lazy habits – which my inner two-year-old does not want to do. But hey, it’s January, which is an excellent time to begin new habits for the better.
So what about you? What ways have you tackled your own organizational challenges?
Nicole Longstreath can’t decide whether she likes to write more about collaborative consumption or politics. Her rants, lectures and adventures can be read here.
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